Greg London
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Greg London (born December 26, 1966) is an American
singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
,
entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers

* Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Barker (occupation), Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Cheerleader * Circus arts, Circus perform ...
and
impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. After a solo hit show in
London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which ma ...
, he enjoyed a lengthy residency in
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
before announcing his move to the
Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...
in mid-2010.


Biography


Early life

London was born in
Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
to an English mother and an American father. When he was a young boy he moved with his mother to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
where he went to school, but they continued to travel back and forth between England and
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. As a child he played the
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
with his grandfather in the Salvation Army's local brass band, and later played first chair trumpet in the
California Youth Symphony California Youth Symphony (CYS) is a San Francisco Bay Area symphony orchestra for young musicians of high school age and younger. It was founded in 1952 by Aaron Sten and in 1963 became the first United States youth orchestra to tour abroad, pe ...
. Greg is the godson of English trumpeter Ronnie Hunt, whose claims to fame include the ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' signature tune, London taught himself to play several musical instruments, and regularly performs the trumpet, guitar, piano, harmonica and percussion instruments in his shows. A student of Dramatic Arts from 1976 to 1979 at Cabrillo College, College of Marin, Deanza College and workshops at UCSC, he trained in acting at San Francisco Dramatic Arts under James Dunn and Harvey Susser.


Life in performance

He performed in theatre and musical comedy in England and America, beginning as a child in Windsor near
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, UK, and in his early twenties south of
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
he starred as Billy Crocker in ''
Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madc ...
'' with the Civic Light Opera, opposite stage legend
Chita Rivera Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero (January 23, 1933 – January 30, 2024), known professionally as Chita Rivera, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Rivera received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awa ...
as Reno Sweeney. He auditioned for film and television, gaining several small roles during this same time. His first recording release, ''Alive Again in Santa Cruz'' (1979), sold a few thousand copies through East Records,
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Japan. London formed a band in 1984, playing many hundreds of dates in clubs all over California,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
,
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
and
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. He began developing his singing voice, and was discovered in
Pebble Beach Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California, United States. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of ...
, California by
Jack Welch John Francis Welch Jr. (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was an American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) between 1981 and 2001. His long career at General Electric ( ...
of
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
, which led to many opportunities to play at varied events in the corporate world. By the early 1990s, he had become known on America's corporate entertainment circuit with his musical impressions-based comedic performance to showcase his talents. London then recorded ''Song of America'' at
A&M Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served as C ...
. This was a CD of old and new American patriotic music, arranged by pianist and arranger Randy Waldman and mixed by engineer Jeffrey (Woody) Woodruff. After this he went on a two-year tour singing for the American troops; his performances received positive reviews, including In winter 2007, he returned to England with his own show at The Venue in London's West End. ''The ICONS in London'' opened to rave reviews by both media and audiences alike. He appeared and sang in the 2008 movie ''The Dukes'', directed by
Robert Davi Robert John Davi (born June 26, 1951) is an American actor, singer, and filmmaker. Over the course of his acting career, Davi has performed in more than 130 films. Among his most known roles are opera-singing Jake Fratelli in '' The Goonies'' (19 ...
. From July 2007 to the end of 2009 he performed at the Sammy Davis Jr Showroom at
Harrah's Entertainment Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven go ...
in
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
. In January 2008 he was named the "Show of the Year" by the entertainment editor of the ''
Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
''. By the end of 2008 he had become one of Reno's longest-running solo entertainers ever. In July 2009 he won Best Entertainer of Nevada in the ''Nevada Magazine'' readers poll, and Best Show of Northern Nevada for his
comedy rock Comedy rock is a genre of rock music that is Comedy music, comedic in nature. It is often mixed with satirical music, satire or irony.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All music guide to rock: the definitive guide to rock, pop, and ...
stylized ICONS an episodic satire musical that utilizes mixing genres, both lampooning and parodies of iconic artists and original satire; created by London and written in the classic literary format, The Hero's Journey, with theater director David Taylor and London playwright Paul Miller. At the end of 2009 London garnered a "best impersonation" credit in ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
''. In July 2011 he won Best Show of Nevada in the ''Nevada Magazine'' readers poll. On May 27, 2010, the ''Las Vegas Review Journal'' announced a move to the
Riviera () is an Italian word which means , ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria (the Genoa region in northwestern Italy) in the form , then shortened in English. Riviera may a ...
. At the Red Carpet Media event September 2, 2010 Riviera President, Bob Vanucci, told the media the resort secured Greg London after searching for a performer who could fill the void left in the Las Vegas Strip entertainment landscape by the death of long time Strip performer, Danny Gans. Greg London was presented with three congratulatory letters from Nevada Governor Gibbons, Congresswoman
Dina Titus Alice Constandina "Dina" Titus ( ; born May 23, 1950) is an American politician who has been the United States representative for since 2013. She served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011, when she was defeated by Joe Heck. Titus i ...
and Senator Ensign, September 2, 2010, was declared by proclamation Greg London's ICONS Day by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.
World News, September 2, 2010
He was then moved to the
Las Vegas Hilton The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and was ...
in early 2011.


Hit singles

Greg London's success as a
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...
artist began during the 2008
holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...
, when his rendition of "
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. ...
" debuted as the #2 most added track on
FMQB ''Friday Morning Quarterback'' (better known as ''FMQB'') was a trade magazine which covered the radio and music industries in the United States. Its coverage included programming, management, promotion, marketing, and airplay for music formatt ...
's AC40 chart and ''
Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' (''Billboard'')
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart during the same week. It peaked at #40 on FMQB. London followed up with a cover of the
David Gates David Ashworth Gates (born December 11, 1940) is a retired American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread (band), Bread, which reached the top of the musical ch ...
song "
Everything I Own "Everything I Own" is a song written by American singer-songwriter David Gates. It was originally recorded by Gates's soft rock band Bread for their 1972 album '' Baby I'm-a Want You''. The original reached No. 5 on the American ''Billboard'' ...
" (originally a hit for the
soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...
group
Bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...
in 1972). It stayed in the top 30 of the
Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...
and ''R&R'' airplay charts for eleven weeks, reaching #25 and #26 respectively; it also hit number 5 on the FMQB AC40 chart. London's next single released to radio, a cover of the
Glenn Shorrock Glenn Barrie Shorrock (born 30 June 1944) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo perfo ...
song " Cool Change" (originally a hit for the soft rock group
Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums reached the top ...
in 1979), hit the top 30 on the Media Base and ''R&R'' airplay charts on August 18, 2009, and went to #5 on FMQB AC40.


Awards

In 2001, London was presented with the Spotlight Award for "Entertainer of the Year" for his dynamic performances in the corporate world. On November 19, 2009, London and "Everything I Own" won the award for Best Adult Contemporary Song for the highest charting new artist release and release on an independent label on all three AC Radio airplay charts at the
Hollywood Music in Media Awards The Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) is an award organization honoring original music (Song and Score) in all forms visual media including film, TV, video games, trailers, commercial advertisements, documentaries, music videos and special p ...
. ''Music Connection'' magazine awarded London a position on their Hot 100 Unsigned Artists List 2009 in the Adult Contemporary category as reported in the December 2009 issue. He was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Song for "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself" at the 2011 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.


Works


Singles discography


Theatre credits and role

* ''
Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madc ...
'' -''Billy Crocker'' * ''
Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The play's book was influenced by El ...
'' -''Conrad Birdie'' * ''
Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...
'' -''Billy Bigelow'' * ''
Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...
'' -''Nathan Detroit ''-''Sky Masterson'' * ''
Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (), usually shortened to ''Marat/Sade'' (), is a 1963 play by Peter Weiss. The work was firs ...
'' -''Marquis de Sade'' * ''
Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...
'' -''Antonio'' * ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...
'' -''Henry Higgins'' * '' Music Man'' -''Harold Hill'' * '' No No Nanette'' -''Billy Early'' * ''
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
'' -''Curly'' * ''
Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
''-''Joe'' * ''
Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon, based on the screenplay for the 1957 Italian film '' Nights of Cabiria''. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse sta ...
'' -''Vitorio Vidal''


Film

*'' The Dukes'' (2008)


Television

*''Hollywood Music in Media Awards HMMA'' ''Awards Show Host'' http://www.marketwatch.com/story/creative-visionary-imran-raza-rocks-out-at-hollywood-music-in-media-awards-2011-11-15


External links


gregorylondon.com
official site *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:London, Greg American male comedians American crooners American male film actors American impressionists (entertainers) American lyricists American male musical theatre actors American satirists American people of English descent American expatriate male actors American expatriates in England Cabrillo College alumni College of Marin alumni American male trumpeters Living people 1966 births People from Pebble Beach, California Comedians from California 21st-century American trumpeters 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California Celebrity impersonators